KV Oostende - Club Brugge: the Club Facts

Unibet - Number 1 in responsible play

This is already the 27th confrontation between the two teams in First Division. The 13 previous trips to the coastal city resulted in 9 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats for Club. In the past 13 away matches against KVO, Club could only fail to score once (1-0 defeat in 2016). Club was able to win the last 3 away matches against KVO each time. Above that, it was able to qualify for the next round in the 1/8th final of the Croky Cup last season. It took blood, sweat, tears and penalties for Club though. Moreover, we also won the last 6 mutual duels.

With KVO and Club, 2 teams with the best defenses faced each other. Club had 10 goals against. Only Sporting Charleroi (7 goals against), Standard and KVO (9 goals against) do better. No club scored more on stoppages (10 out of 25 goals) than Club Brugge. We already scored 5 times on corner kicks, 2 times with a direct free kick and 3 times from the spot.

The Opponent

With 15 out of 30, they are 10th in the standings. They still have a catch-up game against Waasland-Beveren to play. Last weekend they suffered their 3rd defeat of the season at Standard. A late counter goal by Noë Dussenne sealed the verdict. It was the first defeat in their last 8 league games.

The Kustboys lost only once at home: on the opening day against Beerschot VA (1-2). This was followed by a draw against RSC Anderlecht (2-2) and 3 consecutive wins against Oud-Heverlee Leuven (3-1), Excel Moeskroen and SV Zulte Waregem (3-0 each time).

German Alexander Blessin has been coaching KVO since this summer. This summer Oostende said goodbye to a lot of players, but they can also count on several reinforcements:

-> Goalkeepers: Guillaume Hubert [Club Brugge] and Bram Castro [KV Mechelen].

-> Defenders: Arthur Theate [Standard Liège], Anton Tanghe [own promise], Théo Ndicka Matam [Olympique Lyon], Jack Hendry [leased from Celtic FC], Toby Sibbick [leased from Barnsley FC] and Frederik Jäkel [leased from RB Leipzig],

-> Midfielders: Maxime D'Arpino [US Orleans], Cameron McGeehan [Barnsley FC], Nick Bätzner [VfB Stuttgart] and Evangelos Patoulidis [Standard Liège].

-> Attackers: Makhtar Gueye [AS Saint-Étienne], Marko Kvasina [SV Mattersburg], Jorben Vanhulle (own promise) and Mamadou Thiam [without club].

KV Oostende has one of the youngest teams in the Jupiler Pro League. Their starting eleven has an average age of 24.3 years old. Only Waasland-Beveren (23.5), RSC Anderlecht (23.7) and Excel Mouscron (24.2) have a younger squad. The coastal team already received 30 yellow cards this season. No other club in First Division faced more.

Milestones

Noa Lang scored 2 goals in 2 matches where he started in the base. He can become the first player to score in his first 3 base matches since Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis in 2017. The Nigerian then scored against Lokeren (2x), Eupen and Zulte Waregem.

Assist king Ruud Vormer will be joined by Hans Vanaken. Both players already gave 4 assists. Brandon Mechele can play his 180th league game for Club Brugge. Mats Rits his 70th at Club and David Okereke awaits his 30th league game.

Other matches this matchday:
Fri 06/11 20:45 YR KV Mechelen - Sp. du Pays de Charleroi
Sat 07/11 16:15 KV Kortrijk - K. Beerschot VA
Sat 07/11 18:30 KAS Eupen - KV RS Waasland-SK Beveren
(Postponed) Oud-Heverlee Leuven - R. Excel Mouscron
Sat 07/11 20:45 K. Sint-Truidense VV - KRC Genk
Sun 08/11 13:30 R. Antwerp FC - R. Standard de Liège
Sun 08/11 18:15 KAA Gent - RSC Anderlecht
Sun 08/11 20:45 Cercle Brugge KSV - SV Zulte Waregem